Tuscaloosa's economic developer resigning

Friday

Sep 21, 2012 at 12:01 AM

TUSCALOOSA | On Monday, Bill Snowden is going to sleep late. It will be one of the few weekdays that Snowden has not gotten up early to be at City Hall, working to recruit new businesses or planning the city’s future development.

By Jason MortonStaff Writer

TUSCALOOSA | On Monday, Bill Snowden is going to sleep late.It will be one of the few weekdays that Snowden has not gotten up early to be at City Hall, working to recruit new businesses or planning the city’s future development.That’s because in his 10 years with the city of Tuscaloosa, he’s taken just two weeklong vacations.Today, that tenure draws to a close as Snowden, 62, resigns his position as the city of Tuscaloosa’s director of economic development.“I think I was in the right place at the right time with the right leadership,” he said of his time here. “This city is very fortunate to have the leadership it has right now.”The leadership is appreciative of Snowden’s efforts as well.Mayor Walt Maddox, who first met Snowden while Maddox was a City Council member, said Snowden’s tireless energy helped bring a “unique perspective” to Tuscaloosa.“Whether it was guiding us to a new comprehensive plan or leading our economic development efforts, Bill has brought energy, passion and a unique perspective to the city,” Maddox said. “In the past seven years, when my cellphone rings at 10 p.m., it is either (Police) Chief (Steve) Anderson, (Fire and Rescue) Chief (Alan) Martin or Bill Snowden who had been working with a potential developer.”Snowden came to Tuscaloosa in 2002 to succeed Adrian Straley, the outgoing director of community planning and development.Tuscaloosa was the fifth city Snowden has worked for since leaving Georgia Tech in the mid-1970s with a master’s degree in city planning. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Jacksonville State University in political science, economics and public administration and served a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps.Coincidentally, Straley was Snowden’s commanding officer in the military. It was Straley who suggested Snowden attend Georgia Tech after he expressed an interest in city planning.Snowden went on to work in Alabama cities like Camden and Auburn, and Rock Hills, S.C.In the 1990s, Snowden was growing tired of working for local governments, so he tried his hand as a private planning consultant. He said it was a rough start at first, but he built a client base for Snowden and Associates LLC from 1994 to 2001.He believes it was that private sector experience that helped him when he returned to government work as the assistant city manager for Albany, Ga.“It made me such a better planner to deal with people on the other side of the desk,” Snowden said. “It gave me a lot of empathy.”Snowden said he began his career with the goal of becoming a city manager. But after becoming acting city manager in Albany for several months, he realized his passion was in planning.It was then that he learned the city of Tuscaloosa was hiring a planner.“Snowden and Associates and the city of Tuscaloosa are probably the best two things that have ever happened to my career,” he said.In his decade here, Snowden has steered or overseen the overhaul of the city’s 1972 comprehensive master plan, area plans for each of the seven City Council districts and the preservation of the Allen-Jemison building, which will now house the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center.“There’s an old saying in planning: ‘A city that doesn’t care about its past has no concern for its future,’ ” Snowden said about his effort to save the historic downtown building. “I’ve never worked so hard on anything in my life.” Snowden said he was proud of the plans he helped put in place to guide the future of Tuscaloosa. But as with any plan, he knows these too will change.He believes something else will keep his memory alive in Tuscaloosa.“I’ve always been a pretty good judge of character,” Snowden said, “Of the people I’ve hired since I’ve been here ... 10 of them are still here, and I’d put them up against any planning department in the Southeast.“That, 20 years from now, if they’re still here, will be my most significant legacy.”After a few weeks of relaxation, Snowden said he plans to return to private planning and is considering several options, from joining an existing firm to restarting Snowden & Associates.“I’ve been blessed,” Snowden said. “I’ve had a good life, a good career. I’m just turning to the next chapter.“But I’ll never retire. I will do this until the day I die.”

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